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Post Office warns public of ‘package steal’

Fraudsters are going old school with their latest “419” scam – targeting potential victims not via email‚ but with the delivery of a parcel.

The SA Post Office on Thursday warned people about how the scam works.

You get a sealed package delivered to your doorstep or workplace‚ bearing the branding of the SA Post Office’s courier division‚ Speed Services.

You open it up to find a laminated certificate claiming that a substantial amount of money has been paid into a Postbank account opened in your name.

Then comes the sting: to activate that Postbank account in order to claim your “winnings”‚ you must first pay an “activation fee” into another account. The fraudster’s account‚ of course.

“The Post Office advises the public to ignore such packages when they receive them‚” a spokesperson said.

“Postbank‚ the SA Post Office and its other subsidiaries would never open an account on your behalf and request an activation fee.

“You should always be wary of any promises of large sums of winnings for competitions you never took part in.”

The SA Post Office is working with law enforcement agencies to trace the perpetrators of this scam and members of the public with information are requested to call the police or the Post Office’s Crimebuster Hotline on 0800 020 070. – TMG Digital/The Times